Moving your first boat

[bluelapsing]

Hi all,

 

I've (finally) completed the purchase of my first boat! Thanks to many of the threads on this forum I've got the peace of mind that everything is as satisfactory as it could realistically be at this stage, and at a fair price thanks to one of the surveyors regularly recommended here.

 

So as not to bombard you with a million and one questions at once, I'm curious if it would be possible and advisable for a few people with no boating experience to attempt to move a 35ft NB from Nantwich to Nottingham without a Helmsman's course? The person at the marina isn't available in time but I might be able to do one locally/elsewhere - or would it be safer to pay someone to move the boat for me?

 

Any advice much appreciated!

 

TIA

[truckcab79]

Welcome.  I’ve also just bought mine and am nervous about the first trip even though it’s 3.5 hours. 😂. 
 

All I would say is that a few times now we have hired narrow boats and remember the first trip. Expecting a very thorough and in-depth briefing.  What we actually got was a booklet about operating locks a a two minute briefing that was something along the lines of  

‘Bow, stern, start key….see you in two weeks’.
 

It was fine.  Much easier than we feared.  Worth hanging around a few locks and offering to help out in advance maybe.  And you need to get used to the fact that it’s big and it turns from the rear, it’s not like a car, so you need to think ahead.   
 

Good luck with jt.  
 

[PaulJ]

Chances are you will be fine though you may find the first few days stressful.

Try and find out as much as you can from the previous owners about how the boat works, maintenance etc.

A reliable and comfy  boat  will leave you with just learning how to get it where you want it to go..

[Tonka]

23 minutes ago, bluelapsing said:

Hi all,

 

I've (finally) completed the purchase of my first boat! Thanks to many of the threads on this forum I've got the peace of mind that everything is as satisfactory as it could realistically be at this stage, and at a fair price thanks to one of the surveyors regularly recommended here.

 

So as not to bombard you with a million and one questions at once, I'm curious if it would be possible and advisable for a few people with no boating experience to attempt to move a 35ft NB from Nantwich to Nottingham without a Helmsman's course? The person at the marina isn't available in time but I might be able to do one locally/elsewhere - or would it be safer to pay someone to move the boat for me?

 

Any advice much appreciated!

 

TIA

Just take your time and it will be fine

[Lady M]

I think that some boat movers offer an option to travel with you, so you can learn from them. 

[Bee]

Have a nice time. Before you set off though just have a look at an empty lock, the top gates have a massive concrete/wood/iron sill or cill which is underwater and not visible when the lock is emptying or full, this is what the gates close on to. It is Really Important to keep the boat from coming down on this as the lock empties so just keep the boat well away from this area when you are in the lock. 

[Tony Brooks]

As long as you stick to narrow canals to start with and take our time you will be more than ready for the non-tidal Trent when you get there. It is a fair old journey, so check the CaRT stoppages at this time of year. If it was me I would go via the Shropshire Union, Staffs & Worcester and Trent  & Mersey.

 

Depending on how good you are with mechanicals and electrical it might be a good idea to pay for River Canal Rescue membership for your first year.

 

Just take your time and do not hurry, especially around locks.

[jonathanA]

the CRT boaters handbook is actually pretty good and worth a study for sure. 

 

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/refresh/media/thumbnail/41331-the-boaters-handbook.pdf

 

you might find someone in the marina who will be happy to come with you for a couple of hours  if you ask around. 

[magnetman]

34 minutes ago, Tonka said:

Just take your time and it will be fine

Brilliant advice. 

 

 

When I bought my first boat the bloke selling it said 'when boating, take your time'. Good advice I have always followed. Go with the flow. If you get into any difficulty around things like locks it is a heck of a lot better to be going slowly. 

 

Interesting season for boat moving. I'm not that au fait with the geography but if your trip involves rivers then be careful to thoroughly check conditions in advance as they can change very quickly. 

 

This includes sections of canal which use the course of a river as part of their route. It can be a bit mad at times. 

 

 

 

Edited September 28, 2023 by magnetman

[cuthound]

58 minutes ago, bluelapsing said:

Hi all,

 

I've (finally) completed the purchase of my first boat! Thanks to many of the threads on this forum I've got the peace of mind that everything is as satisfactory as it could realistically be at this stage, and at a fair price thanks to one of the surveyors regularly recommended here.

 

So as not to bombard you with a million and one questions at once, I'm curious if it would be possible and advisable for a few people with no boating experience to attempt to move a 35ft NB from Nantwich to Nottingham without a Helmsman's course? The person at the marina isn't available in time but I might be able to do one locally/elsewhere - or would it be safer to pay someone to move the boat for me?

 

Any advice much appreciated!

 

TIA

 

Of course it's possible. Thousands of people do it every year when they hire a boat for their first boating holiday.

 

The first time I went on a narrowboat, for a holiday back in 1973 it was on a 70 foot ex-working boat, The yard showed me how the controls worked and how to start and stop the engine and off we went.

 

Luckily we had taken a canoe with us because, in our ignorance and haste to get underway, we had untied the lines at the boat end, leaving them connected to the mooring spikes on the bank... The canoe was needed to retrieve them.

[ditchcrawler]

This is a good on line source of training, I wonder if they will always be available (2) Willow Wren Training - YouTube 

 

[matty40s]

1 hour ago, Lady M said:

I think that some boat movers offer an option to travel with you, so you can learn from them. 

Not something I ever encouraged for more than one day. Normal people like to have breakfast before starting, stop for lunch and dinner at sensible times. 12 hour plus days do not suit being with customers.

[PaulJ]

1 hour ago, matty40s said:

Not something I ever encouraged for more than one day. Normal people like to have breakfast before starting, stop for lunch and dinner at sensible times. 12 hour plus days do not suit being with customers.

And when the boat mover snores and customer cant sleep because of it they also get very grouchy ..😀

[enigmatic]

That route is a pretty good and varied intro to boating. 

 

Nice, first day with two easy locks and a gentle cruise in a straight line, then on your next day or two you've got a nice canalside village and the well maintained Audlem flight to really get to feel like you understand locks, then after that it's pretty easy cruising all the way to Wolverhampton. Then you completely avoid the built-up area for a couple more pretty rural canals, and by the time you reach the Trent, you'll actually feel you know your boat pretty well. The Trent is a lot bigger than your boat but should feel a lot less daunting joining the gentle downstream way, as it gradually increases in size to Nottingham.

 

[BEngo]

One of the things you will encounter is leaves.  It is the leaf fall season.  The Shroppie and stretches of the T&M have lots of trees.

 

The effect of leaves is amazing. Instead of continuing to float and look pretty they form themselves into a ball around your propellor.  This makes the engine sound funny and the boat will slow down.  When you stop to investigate, all the leaves  come away from the prop before you can get the weed hatch lid  off  and nothing is obviously wrong when you dive the hole. 

Once you get used to the symptoms the solution is just to shut the throttle, wait two seconds then take it out of gear.  Wait 5 seconds and resume normal cruising.  This fools the leaves into thinking you are stopping and they all leap off the prop as soon as you take it out of gear.

 

N

 

[bluelapsing]

Thanks all, for both the reassurance and all of the helpful resources.

 

Now (just about) ready to settle in at the Navigation Inn and plan accordingly 😅

 

 

[Machpoint005]

Yes, I endorse what others have said about going for it -- slowly. 

 

As regards the time of year,  as BEngo said, some of the narrow canals don't have water in them just now. They have porridge. 

 

 

[system 4-50]

Recipe for making your first move difficult:

1. Have a really tight deadline for when you have to arrive.

2. Be slightly unwell on the day but set out anyway.

3. Have only one (or less!) of each of the essential pieces of equipment eg windlass, mooring pins, etc

4. Turn out of the marina in the wrong direction and not notice for miles.

5. Leave it very late in the day before thinking about finding a stopping place for the night.

6. Enlist the assistance of somebody even less competent than yourself, as company.

7. Fail to have substantial food & drink reserves.

8. Move on a bank holiday.

9. Have inadequate foul weather clothing.

10. Fail to research the general topic of canal boating on CWDF.

[magnetman]

11. Not enough beer on the boat. 

[bluelapsing]

2 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

4. Turn out of the marina in the wrong direction and not notice for miles.

 

 

In spite of my mightiest efforts, this will almost certainly be my fate 💀

[magnetman]

ETA I see this was addressed at 7 but just felt it was necessary to point out that anything boating related goes up to 11. 

 

 

[system 4-50]

13 minutes ago, magnetman said:

ETA I see this was addressed at 7 but just felt it was necessary to point out that anything boating related goes up to 11. 

 

 

I agree, beer deserves a separate, special, emphasis.  Even for a non-beer drinker, as it may come in handy to reward chance-encounter helpers (like the grand fellow that worked 16 locks for me on one occasion so that I did not even have to get off the boat! I toast him regularly to this day.).

[ditchcrawler]

45 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

 

4. Turn out of the marina in the wrong direction and not notice for miles.

 

My first time out on a hire boat from Penkridge I went the wrong way and had to work out how a lock worked

[David Mack]

8 hours ago, bluelapsing said:

I'm curious if it would be possible and advisable for a few people with no boating experience to attempt to move a 35ft NB from Nantwich to Nottingham without a Helmsman's course?

Of course. Hire boaters do it all the time. Various online resources already suggested will give you more idea than many newbies have. Just f***ing do it!

 

8 hours ago, bluelapsing said:

or would it be safer to pay someone to move the boat for me?

Well unless you are going to engage a boat mover for every trip for as long as you own the boat, you will have to do a first trip yourself sometime, so why not now?

[Machpoint005]

5 minutes ago, David Mack said:

>> Well unless you are going to engage a boat mover for every trip for as long as you own the boat, you will have to do a first trip yourself sometime, so why not now?

 

^^^ Yes! This.

 

It worked for us (a very long time ago).

 

.